Based in London, Lucy Brook is a journalist, editor and creative copywriter.

Jun 10 Russh: Nashville Essay

2011, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE. It was summer and music was everywhere – on street corners, seeping under doors of air-conditioned bars on Lower Broad, thundering from a colossal stage in a football stadium across the Cumberland River. On a Sunday night, Taylor Swift was holding her hands in the shape of a love heart above her head at LP Field as fireworks fizzed and popped above her. I left midway through her set, weary and sweltering in 40 degree heat. I walked over the Shelby Street Bridge, saw lovers holding hands and French tourists in floral sundresses and beaten caramel cowgirl boots. I lent against the bridge’s barricade in the dark and watched the fireworks light up the buildings downtown. I knew no one, and my cotton shirt clung to the damp skin on my back, but I couldn’t remember a time when I’d been happier.

I didn’t go to Nashville with a guitar on my back and songs in my pocket – I went on a whim en route to New York, a mythical mega-city where I was certain I belonged, and ended up with media accreditation to cover the city’s annual CMA Music Festival. In between press conferences and glitzy stadium shows, I wandered the streets in the sticky heat and late at night, I watched poets and dreamers play for tips in rackety bars.

Based in London, Lucy Brook is a journalist, editor and creative copywriter.

She regularly covers lifestyle, travel, pop culture and the arts, and her writing has appeared in Elle, Nylon, Cereal, Russh, The Ingenue and Oyster.

Lucy has worked in New York and London with diverse clients to shape their tone of voice and brand messaging, and has more than 10 years experience creating editorial, marketing, advertising, UX and SEO optimised copy.